Backgrounds Road traffic injuries (RTIs) is a neglected public health problem in Bangladesh due to lack of valid and reliable data. Almost 90% of all RTI deaths occur in LIMCs. RTI is one of the leading causes of fatal and non-fatal in Bangladesh. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2015) estimated that it kills over 21,000 people in the country annually.

Objective The study aims at exploring the epidemiological burden of both non-fatal and fatal RTIs in Bangladesh.

Methods The nationwide cross-sectional study, the Bangladesh Health and Injury Survey (BHIS), was conducted in 16 randomly selected districts of Bangladesh from March to June 2016. It utilized a pretested semi-structured questionnaire to evaluate annual fatal and non-fatal injury outcomes, specifically focusing on socio-demographic characteristics at the household level. The sampling technique utilized a multistage cluster method considering probability-proportional-to-size strategy was used to select a total of 299,216 household residents. Among them, 106,233 individuals (35.50%) were from urban areas, while 192,983 individuals (64.50%) were from rural areas. Data was collected on tablets using customized data entry program. The verbal autopsy method was used to determine the cause of both mortality and morbidity.

Result Mortality and morbidity rates due to RTI were 14.37 (95%CI;10.67–19.35) and 2164.32 (95%CI;2113.00–2217.00) per 100,000 per year respectively. The highest incidence rate of fatal RTI [21.89 (95%CI;09.35–51.25)] was found among >60 years’ people while non-fatal RTI rate was highest among 25–59 years’ age group [2702.51 (95%CI;2618–2789)]. Both fatal and non-fatal rates were significantly higher among males [22.79 (16.32–31.85)] than females [6.03 (3.17–11.47)], but there was no significant difference of RTI rates between urban and rural people. Most of the fatal and non-fatal RTIs occurred in daytime between 9:00am-12:00pm and 12:0pm-15:00pm respectively. Seat-belt usage was found in 2.1% of drivers, while 28% of motorcyclists were found to be wearing helmets. Additionally, 4.50% of drivers were using mobile phones, and 3.8% of both drivers and motorcyclists were identified as drug-addicted at the time of the accident.

Conclusion The magnitude of fatal and non-fatal RTIs was remarkably high in Bangladesh. People aged 25 to 60 years were the most vulnerable group.